


And So We Burn

by redblue



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, And friends-with-benefits, Eren & Levi are best friends, F/F, F/M, Gang Violence, I'll add other relationship tags when they're revealed in the story, M/M, Street Racing, Underage Drinking, Underage Kissing, Underage Smoking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-06
Updated: 2016-04-06
Packaged: 2018-05-31 17:50:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6480556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redblue/pseuds/redblue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Titans are a notorious, wild gang in the city comprised of six members: Eren, the leader; Levi, the merciless; Mikasa, the wild card; Armin, the genius; Erwin, the anti-hero; and Hange, the mystery. They wreck havoc and defend each other. </p><p>They're cold and triumphant and they own this city.</p>
            </blockquote>





	And So We Burn

**Author's Note:**

> I have a million fics to update.
> 
> So, of course, I write a new one...

“Hey. Say you’re sorry.”

The student, currently on his knees, looked up at Mikasa and furrowed his eyebrows.

“But it was an accident, I -”

“Wrong answer.”

Without giving their fellow classmate time to reply, Mikasa swung her leg. Her foot connected with the student’s head, and the kid was yanked forcefully from the brute strength. His body slumped to the ground. He didn’t get up, and Mikasa rolled her eyes.

Eren, leaning with his back against the rooftop railing, looked at the kid without so much as a flicker of care. “He passed out.”

Erwin snorted. Levi, who was also leaning against the railing beside Eren, exhaled the smoke from his cigarette. 

Mikasa shrugged. “You know I don’t like when people don’t do what I ask of them. Plus, he bumped into you.”

Eren looked lazily back at her. “You’re too protective.” He stood up straight and walked over to the two. The toe of his school shoe poked into the kid’s side. Suddenly, the kid jerked awake and looked at Eren in terror.

“I’m sorry! I’m really sorry, Eren!” He held his head the whole time. Mikasa had given him a good gash, and blood dripped down his cheek. 

Eren crouched beside him and cupped the kid’s face. He looked young, probably a tenth grader. Eren grinned, like a wolf looking down at a sheep. From far away, it might look like a gentle smile. But up close, it was all fangs. Merciless and amused, and eager for blood. His free forearm hung limp over his bent knee.

He looked menacing. 

“No problem.” The grin seemed to stretch wider. “Just watch where you’re going next time, yeah? Or I won’t be able to stop Mikasa from beating you senseless. She packs a punch. But I bet you know that.”

The student nodded, looking terrified, before he got to his feet and hurriedly left after mumbling a few more ‘sorrys’.

Eren chuckled and came back to the railing, but this time he looked outwards, facing the city before them. On a good day, it felt like his kingdom.

There were six of them on the school’s rooftop. Mikasa stood in the middle of the rooftop, mumbling about her shoes being splattered with a bit of blood. Eren and Levi stood against the railing. Levi was quiet and watchful as always.

Erwin sat against the wall, somewhere near the door. On one side of him, Hange was passed out on the floor, her head in Erwin’s lap. Her snoring was unbelievably loud, but they were all used to it. Armin sat on Erwin’s other side, a book in his lap. He had little interest in the violence aspect of their group, but he was a brilliant planner. He got them info on places, people, and things. An essential part of the group.

They were the Titans, a notorious delinquent gang in the city. The six of them were terrifying on their own: together, they were a force that broke the city one poor soul at a time. They were beautifully crafted individuals, full of brilliance and strength. And yet, they wasted their time with a thirst for blood, that thrilling sound of a lock being broken, the adrenaline as they watched Mikasa silently and effortlessly picked someone’s pocket.

They lived for destruction, and they brought it in their own ways. Eren, the leader. The generous one, they called him. The ones who hadn’t met him said he was too sweet-looking to be in a gang. They called him fresh-faced and weak. And Eren loved it. He wanted them to call him weak - it was that much more rewarding when they saw the real him. He liked watching as they got real close and saw the mischievous glint in his eyes, the smile made of bone-hungry teeth. Call him weak, call him too-good for these delinquents, call him a boy who could’ve had much more. It didn’t matter. When they saw him up close, they’d know. They’d know why this boy, thin and beautiful and majestic, was the leader of such a hideously hostile gang.

Levi and Erwin were fighters. Practically bodyguards for the group, though they both knew that every single member could handle themselves. Erwin was much more gentle. He gave the nice ones a second chance. But the bad ones? Broken legs, battered faces, the threat of murder in his stance. He was a good guy, really. He just used his heroic gestures much more… violently than most. An anti-hero of sorts. Always wanting to do the right thing, and yet always wanting to break someone’s neck.

Levi was quite the opposite. He had little care for anyone besides the 5 others around him. Good or bad, he’d stomp anyone who tried him or the gang. He did things without mercy. He was cold, ruthless, and liked knives a little too much. Rumor around the school was that he’d killed more than once before - of course, no one could prove it, so the rumor wasn’t much of a threat to him.

Mikasa? She was Eren’s second. His protector, even if he didn’t want it. She was a kleptomaniac and a pyromaniac. Stealing and fire were what made her a good match for this wild bunch. She got them things that others had. Phones, laptops, money. Her obsession with fire was a bit dangerous, but so far nothing bad had come from it, so they let her set things ablaze every now and then.

Armin. Just like Eren, people said he didn’t belong. But it was a little more understandable. His intelligence was something everyone wanted. Top of the class, brilliant with hacking. A sound mind. What people didn’t know about him was his familiarity with anatomy. He could easily point out every single bone in the human body, or where their pressure points were. He was useful in every way.

And Hange? No one really knew much about her. Some said she was a cannibal, and claimed they could smell the far, rotten scent of human blood from her mouth. It was true that she often smelt like death. But the Titans never asked her about it, and she didn’t offer it up. She was the group’s mystery, but she were also an energizer, and the group wouldn’t survive without her.

Eren sighed, like he just couldn’t believe the student from before had wasted his time. Looking over the school’s courtyards and the city’s buildings, he held out his hand to Levi. Levi smacked his hand away, and Eren scoffed.

“What? I can’t take a drag?”

Levi inhaled, gave him a look, then exhaled. “No. You quit.”

“Yeah, but if I just take one -”

“No.”

“Mikasa, tell him that one hit from a stupid cigarette would be fine.”

Mikasa walked over to them and leaned against the railing on the other side of Eren. “No. You quit.” It had been exactly what Levi said. “Plus, you always smell like shit when you smoke.”

Levi looked over at her. “Are you trying to suggest something?”

Mikasa stared back intentionally. “Yes.”

Eren rolled his eyes. “You’re both a fucking pain in my ass.”

Mikasa shrugged. “You told us not to let you smoke. We’re good people.”

From far away, Erwin snorted again. Eren let out a little laugh, too. “Good people is a funny way to describe us, ‘Kasa. Try again.”

“I’m not letting you die early because of a stupid cigarette. Levi, on the other hand -”

“Oh, fuck off, Mikasa,” Levi replied, though it lacked any venom.

Mikasa smiled, then made her way over to Armin and sat beside him. Eren heard her ask him about his book, and he smiled at her, describing what the book was about. Erwin’s eyes were closed as he leaned his head and back against the wall, but Eren doubted he was sleeping. Frowning, Eren turned back to Levi. The wind blew and ruffled up their hair. 

Levi’s mouth twitched. “Your hair.” It sounded like he was forcefully repressing a laugh.

Eren patted his mess of brown strands, messing it up even more. “What? What happened to it?”

Finally, Levi cracked the smallest of smiles. “Come here.” Eren leaned in closer, and Levi rearranged his hair back into place. “I shouldn’t have told you it was all messed up.”

Eren frowned. “Don’t be mean, Levi.” But despite the teasing, he leaned forward. His fingers touched Levi’s jaw, fingertips brushing his skin. Levi almost bristled, but he stood still and let himself be kissed. 

The two were best friends. Mikasa and Armin were Eren’s childhood friends, almost like siblings, but Levi was a different sort of best friend. They understood everything about each other. They knew each other’s secrets and they fought side by side. They were the scariest duo within the Titans. They fought like they knew exactly where the other would be at any given time. Only Levi received Eren’s tiny, knowing grins when they were across the room from each other. 

They also fucked. It had started a few months ago, and had been a casual thing ever since. They were not boys who talked about emotions - it was a fuck, a kiss when Eren was feeling affectionate, and nothing more. Levi would smoke a cigarette afterwards and Eren would joke about how his ass hurt too much to go out and fight their enemies.

Eren didn’t know that Levi was in love with him, and always had been in love since they’d met.

Eren was oblivious as far as Levi knew. Eren didn’t talk about trivial things like love or sadness or happiness. His thoughts only consisted of the Titan members and their enemies. Eren was only obsessed with the feeling of bloody knuckles and punches to his lungs and sharp metal clashing. He liked gang wars and walking away triumph and bloody. He liked looking out at the city and realizing it was all his. But he didn’t like feelings, and Levi knew that, so he had never brought it up, and probably never would. That didn’t stop him from finding every kiss uncomfortable, as he had to anxiously ignore his own blooming love.

After Eren pecked a nonchalant kiss to his lips, they turned around just as Hange bolted up from her sleeping position. Erwin, Armin, and Mikasa looked at her in question.

She sniffed the air, then looked over at Eren expectantly. “I smell blood - did we kill someone?”

Erwin chuckled, finally speaking. “Don’t be disappointed if we tell you no.”

Hange pouted. “Aw!” Then she perked up. “Well, I guess I’m glad. You’re not allowed to kill people if I’m asleep. It would’ve been an injustice.”

Armin looked at her in slight disgust and Levi threw the butt of his cigarette to the ground, stomping the tiny blaze out. They were done on the roof, and contrary to popular belief, they actually enjoyed going to class - there were more people to assess.

So they walked down and back into the hallways, earning mutters and glares as Hange leaned on Erwin’s shoulder. Armin and Mikasa held a quiet conversation behind them, and Eren had his arm wrapped lazily over Levi’s shoulders. With his free hand, he shot out loose waves and curved smiles, and the day went on like that, with the Titans as a rumbling, wrecking force in the small, confined walls of their high school. 

 

Later that night, the street lights blared past them. Eren sat behind the wheel. A car was beside them on the street as they raced, tires peeling around each turn. Purple and pink neon signs hung high in the background. Their cars raced on the outskirts of town, making sure to snag the empty streets.

It was technically morning time by the time Eren won, making it past the designated stop. The driver he’d been racing rolled down his window and called out to him, saying it was a good race before driving off. Eren sat back against the seat and smiled, sighing contently.

He looked over at Levi, who’d been with him the whole time in the passenger seat. It was Levi’s car, though he always let Eren use it for his late night desires to race. Levi knew that Eren was a thrill-seeker, and that street racing was one of the many things he did to occupy his time.

Now that they’d finally stopped, Eren fully felt the throbbing in his veins. Levi looked over at him, noticing his stare. “What?”

Eren only turned off the car, set the keys in the cupholder, and leaned over to fiercely press his lips into Levi’s.

Levi should’ve known it was coming. Eren was always too excited after anything that got his heart beating faster, and Levi was the one he constantly tried to share the excitement with. Blood and fighting and thrill were all things that led to sex for the two of them, and with Eren’s win from tonight still churning in his chest, he was desperate to do it right here, right now.

Levi kissed back for a second, biting Eren’s lip, before a sinking feeling bubbled up in his stomach. It was something he’d been feeling for the past month or two, but the anxiety had only been growing and growing. And tonight, he didn’t think he could continue. Being in love with his best friend and fuck buddy was nothing but a heavy weight, and it dragged him down every time Eren touched him.

“Eren, stop -”

The brunette laughed. “You’ve never minded doing it in a car before.” He kept kissing him along his jaw, the ear, then throat, and Levi shivered. Then, he pushed Eren back to the driver’s side, completely away from him. He used a bit of his strength, so Eren knew he was serious.

Surprised and confused, Eren let his hands fall back into his lap. “What’s wrong?”

Levi sighed. He didn’t want to have this conversation now, after a stupid race, when Eren was at his happiest. But he also couldn’t go along with the casual sex any longer. 

“I think we should stop… this.” He indicated to the two of them.

Eren frowned. “You don’t want to be friends with me?”

“No. What the fuck, no, Eren.” He shook his head. He’d never want to stop being friends with him. No one in the world understood him more than Eren - he wasn’t stupid enough to give that up. “I think we should stop… this. The sex and the kissing.” 

“Oh.” Eren scratched his cheek, then turned to look out the front window. “Right.” There was a long pause. He seemed half apathetic and half something else, though Levi couldn’t tell what it was. “Why?”

Levi didn’t want to tell him why. He didn’t want to admit that he was in love and that touching Eren only made it that much harder to stop his feelings. He didn’t want to seem weak, and he didn’t want to make Eren uncomfortable. He knew Eren was a boy with no commitments, no cares. Only freedom and destruction.

So Levi only shrugged. “I just don’t want to anymore.”

It was quiet for awhile as Eren absorbed this. Levi eventually pulled out a cigarette and lit it, partially rolling down the window. After a few minutes, Eren nodded.

“Okay. I guess that’s that.” His voice seemed a little strange. He turned on the car again and drove in the direction of their houses, which were on the same street. “Fuck. Yeah. I’m sorry, Lee. I wish you’d told me sooner… I wouldn’t have been so persistent with it.”

“No, Eren, that’s not -”

But Eren glanced over at him with a quick, small smile. “Levi, it’s fine. I respect you and I respect what you want.” Then he turned on the radio and switched over to the C.D. currently in the slot, drowning out any chance of further conversation.

**Author's Note:**

> Every chapter title is gonna be an eminem song...
> 
> Also, I'll be tracking "and so we burn" or "fic: and so we burn" on Tumblr!


End file.
